1. Field of Application
This invention relates to labels and more particularly to multi-copy label sets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is often necessary to place information upon an item to identify the item, its contents, its owner, or location where the item is being sent and possibly a person at that location to receive the item. Whether the item is a letter, package or parcel that is being mailed, shipped, air transported, or otherwise to be delivered; or the item is a package or suitcase that is being carried from one place to another, it is important that a proper identification be placed upon the item to show its owner (sender) and possibly who is to receive the item. Similarly it is quite often, important, if not obligatory, to identify items such as drugs after they have been placed in their containers and prior to their being given to the user. There are numerous other times and situations where identification and labelling are important and necessary.
Placing owner (sender) and receiver identification upon packages to be mailed or otherwise delivered is quite often accomplished by merely writing the respective names and addresses upon the package. Many senders prefer to put the names and addresses on two or more sides of the package in case one side is damaged or the information thereon should become otherwise obscured. However, writing names and addresses a number of times is time consuming; and for many persons a distastful chore.
Owner identification must be similarly placed upon suitcases, carry-on items, and other luggage when taking a trip by airplane, train, boat or the like. Many times in the haste of packing and getting away the luggage tags are forgotten until check-in time. Then, quite often and while on line at the check-in counter, multiple, string tags have to be filled in and tied onto the luggage. This is a cumbersome task and usually not only annoying to the party filling in the tags but also to everyone else on line.
At other times, it is important to make and keep a record of the items contents, destination, and other pertinent details. This is a usual practice for pharmacies and the like. In essence, the party creating or filling in the label has to generate an additional record with the same, or substantially the same information placed upon the label.
The availability of self-stick labels have helped to minimize the problems of tie-on labels and tags, or labels and tags which are strapped on or otherwise attached to the package. Not only is it time consuming and sometimes difficult to tie or strap such labels and tags on the package, but such labels and tags often get torn off the package thus leaving it unidentified. However, many available self-stick labels are provided on sheets or rolls but as individual, separate and distinct items. Thus, if a number of identical labels are required, as for multiple pieces of luggage, or multiple addresses on a package, or where a copy of the label information is to be retained for record purposes; the user must still write out, or type out, the information a number of times. The user must also purchase and/or carry a roll or sheet of such labels in order to have them available for use.
Some self-stick labels are available as individual items, thus avoiding the necessity to purchase, store, and manipulate a whole sheet or roll of labels; but not avoiding the problem of multiple copying of identical information on multiple labels. However, self-stick labels such as those shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,919 granted on Feb. 3, 1981 to Ronald A. Davis for Business Form and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,459,626 granted on Aug. 5, 1969 to B. D. Morgan for Label Carrier and Release Laminate are not only relatively complex in their respective constructions and constituent elements but still require that each label be individually completed, even though they are to contain identical information. On the other hand, available self-stick labels such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,383,121 granted on May 14, 1968 to E. A. Singer for Self-Adhesive Copy Label require a relatively complex and expensive laminated arrangement of special elements in order to provide a label or labels and copy.